A Cat's tales
by Heath Melody
Summary: When the Whitebeard pirates dock at the small island in east blue called Dawn Island, they didn't count on finding three brothers there. After befrending the youngest brother, Luffy, Whitebeard decides to take the brothers under his wing. Whatch as the crew slowly gains the trust of Ace and Sabo while trying to figure out Luffy's condition.
1. Chapter 1

**Before you read this chapter, know that this is a prologue of sorts and not a real chapter. This is here mainly to explain about Luffy's condition and some of his devil fruit. More about his devil fruit will be explained in a few chapters, though I think the name gives a lot away.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or anything related to it.**

**Please tell me of any mistakes. Constructive criticism is appreciated and flames will be ignored.**

**And now, **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

'So what you're saying, is that if not for your devil fruit, you could have died at any moment?'

Sabo tried keeping calm, he truly did, but that was not an easy feat when your little brother could have died at any moment! Said brother was laying on the small bed his older brothers had made for him when he had fallen sick three days ago. The poor dear could only manage a weak nod in response.

The blonde stopped his pacing to sit down beside Luffy's head. Worry and guilt as well as slight anger was gnawing at his insides as he put his head in his hands. Why hadn't they noticed earlier that the boy was sick? He had been clumsier than usual and refused to eat anything. Why? If only they- no, _he_ had noticed a bit earlier, they could ha-

A small tug on his coat pulled him from his thoughts as he looked over at the smiling face of the seven-year old. It was obvious that he was in pain, but even so the smile looked as genuine as it could. 'Please don't tell Ace-nii...' Sabo was about to object when a voice came from their doorway.

'Don't tell me what?'

Ace looked over at his little brother and felt his heart clench with pain. His face was somehow both pale and flushed at the same time. Pain was visible in his hazed eyes which were half closed. Beads of sweat rolled down his face and his hair was wet with sweat. Nothing had changed from when he had left an hour ago to fish and now, except for the red stains clearly visible on the white blanket.

Both the fish and Ace's pipe fell to the floor once he spotted the red stains. The only thing it could be was blood, as there was nothing else in their tree house that could cause such stains. He rushed to Luffy's side to inspect him and the small amount of worry which had started brewing in his gut increased tenfold when he saw the faint trace of blood on his brother's chin.

'Oh my God. Please tell me that those are stains from some red berries or something!' He looked panicked over at Sabo who quickly looked down at the now very interesting floor. Wasting no time in trying to get something out of Luffy, as he had passed out again, Ace grabbed Sabo's shoulder not-so-gently and looked him in the eyes.

'Sabo? You have to tell me what happened _now_ or I'll beat it out of you!' Even though he tried sounding brave and angry you could still hear the worry and panic in his voice. Shoulders sagging in defeat Sabo gave one last guilty glance over to their little brother before silently rising with Ace and walking over to the small, round table.

Once the two brothers were seated, Sabo began the long and complicated explanation of Luffy's condition while trying his best not to break down.

'Luffy… He has a very fragile body and even the slightest cold could be lethal to him.' Ace's head dropped into his hands he heard the start of Sabo's explantion. 'He would already have died if it hadn't been for his devil fruit.' Sabo winced as he heard an audible _snap_ come from the boy sitting across from him. 'His devil fruit? What the hell does this have to do with his devil fruit?!' He was worried and angry with himself when that damn fruit had been brought up. Because of that stupid fruit Luffy had bee- His thoughts were cut off by Sabo continuing his explanation.

'His devil fruit is a really rare one, even rarer than logia fruits actually. The Nekomata fruit is a mythical zoan and has great healing abilities, along with other powers. This healing factor is keeping him alive by healing him over and over again when he gets sick.' The noble had to pause to take a deep breath before continuing.

'Normally, this wouldn't have worked on normal illness as the fruit can't heal illness, but Luffy's condition makes his body break itself down when he's sick because it can't locate the illness. His body is destroying cells and replacing them constantly.' The fiery boy in front of him slowly nodded as it slowly clicked in place. It also explained why the seven-year-old was in more pain than what was usual. His body was basically breaking itself down and reconstructing it again.

After accepting his brothers explanation, another thought came to mind. 'Wait… How do _you_ know so much about this? The healing factor we already knew about, but how did you know that his body was breaking down? There is no way he could have told you.' The boy across from him blushed a slight shade of red as he answered.

'I might have taken a few books with me from my "family" when I escaped, and I may have read all the books on medicine and devil fruits when Luffy got sick…' A grin spread on Ace's face has he quickly stood up to give Sabo a hug. 'You are the best brother in the whole world!' Taking a step back the raven haired boy spoke with a serious tone:

'We have to be careful from now on. We can't let him be on his own and no going out when it's cold.' Sabo nodded in agreement before adding 'I read about some medicine that could help with his condition and normal pain killers should work with the pain.' Both brothers grinned at each other before pulling out their blankets and laying down beside Luffy's "bed" to sleep.

* * *

In the distance, a huge ship stopped for the night. The ship was headed towards a small island called "Dawn Island" to get some supplies and take a break before heading back into the New World. On the ship a blonde male with a haircut which made him look like a pineapple sighed as he looked over to the small island in the distance.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Woohoo! Second Chapter up and going! I'll try to have one chapter out every sunday, but I might get delayed or have to post a chapter early, because life, life is really a bitch. Constructive critism is appreatiated and flames will be ignored. I don't own one Piece. For now. This chapter is a bit longer than the first one and probably full of mistakes. If there is anything at all you want to ask, you should ask it, if you ask me. Haha, okay, enough blabber.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

The next morning Luffy was awoken by the loud noise of one of their many alarms. Less than ten seconds later he was picked up by one of his brothers.

After picking up the ill boy, Sabo rushed towards the back window and jumped out. He landed safely on a big branch a bit below the window and ran as fast and quiet as he could towards the grey terminal.

Back in the treehouse Ace was cautiously peeking out of the window, looking for whatever it was that set of the alarm. The chance of it being an animal was low, as the alarms were set along the path. His coal eyes narrowed as he spotted two figures walking towards him in the distance, following the alarm cord. Muttering a quiet curse Ace grabbed his pipe and quickly hid all valuables, Luffy's hat included. Sneaking back towards the window he peered out to see how close the two figures had gotten. They were close enough for him get a good look at them before hiding himself.

One of the figures had brown hair done in a pompadour and was dressed in light coloured clothes. The other had blonde hair on top of his head which made him look like a pineapple with a blue tattoo on his chest.

* * *

Marco sighed in annoyance as he and Thatch followed the string. They had been walking up the path when Thatch had tripped on something which must have been an alarm of some kind as they had heard a series of loud noises not too far away. His fellow commander has cursing softly while he was holding his nose. 'I swear to God Marco, when I find the one who put a _tripwire_ in the middle of the path…' The pompadour man continued his threat lowly for himself, glaring at the ground.

After another minute of walking they arrived at their destination. 'A treehouse? You have to be kidding me!' Thatch exclaimed as he looked up at the treehouse. Great, now they had to deal with some troublesome brats.

The treehouse was, not so surprisingly, empty. Thatch stood by the door, still nursing his nose, and watched as Marco inspected the contents of the little house.

Marco frowned as he inspected the small bed between two blankets. A small amount of worry began pooling in his gut as he picked up the blanket covering the bed. It had bloodstains on the upper part and it looked like the occupant left in a hurry, judging from the state of the bed. The most worrying part was that the bed was small. It must belong to a young child. Standing up from his crouched position the first division commander took in the rest of the treehouse. It was mostly bare, except for a table and three chairs. Three chairs and one bed plus two blankets. Three children then. One of them injured from the look of things.

The phoenix walked out of the little house and gestured for Thatch who had stood by the door to come with him. "Three children from the looks of things. One of them injured." He reported to his crewmate. Thatch nodded at him and as they were about to climb down, a soft _thud_ came from the room. Spinning around the pirates caught a glimpse of a child with black hair jump out of the back window before he disappeared.

'Damn!' Thatch yelled as he rushed towards the window. Underneath it was a thick branch to land on. The child was already a good distance from the treehouse. 'Hey! Wait! Come back!' Either the child didn't hear him, or he just didn't care. Cursing slightly under his breath Thatch ran out only to see Marco transforming and flying off. 'Why do I always get the short end of the stick?' The brunette hurried to get down the treehouse and catch up with Marco and the kid.

* * *

In a little house made of scrap iron and some planks with animal skins on the floor, Sabo was wrapping Luffy in a white blanket to keep him warm. Even though he didn't chough up any blood and wasn't as warm as yesterday, he was still flushed. The little boy was panting slightly and as soon as Sabo held him against his chest, his small hands weakly clutched at his shirt. His eyes were closed and his already poor control over his devil fruit getting even worse due to the headache and fever resulted in a pair of fuzzy, black cat ears to pop up on his head. All in all, he was like a sick, black kitten.

Leaning on a wall Sabo slowly sat down, as not to disturb Luffy, and sighed. Now they just had to wait for Ace to arrive and give them the signal to come out.

* * *

A good ten minutes later, Ace arrived on the small shore their safe-house was built on. It was really just a temporary one, since they were still building the real one. Looking behind him to check for any signs of the men, he walked over to the little house, not noticing the blue, flaming bird landing in the forest behind him. He didn't notice the two men that walked out of the forest a few seconds later.

As Ace walked over to their little safe house, he failed to notice the men following behind him. He was more worried about Luffy than anything. He had woken up twice that night in pain. He had coughed both times, but no blood. No blood was a good sign, right? He really hoped this was over soon. Once Luffy was well enough to walk, they would have to take a trip to Foosha village to get some more pills. Luffy had too little iron in his blood, so if he didn't take his pills, he got tired really fast. If he didn't get his medicine in a week, he would start hunting down animals to drink their blood for the iron. He and Sabo guessed that it was because of his devil fruit that he did so. Nevertheless, it was pretty creepy and weird, not to mention scary when your little brother suddenly goes all vampire on the poor animals.

Knocking three times on the door, he was about to tell Sabo it was safe when he heard a voice behind him.

'Hey kid! We just want to talk for a bit! We won't hurt you, we promise!'

Thatch could see that it was the wrong thing to say immediately after he said it. The raven haired kid froze up and he could see his muscles tense. Slowly the young boy turned around to face the pirates, his pipe clenched tightly in his hand. His coal eyes were narrowed into a glare as he eyed the two men before him. He had learned the hard way that adults were not to be trusted.

Marco sighed. It seemed like the kid was a bit on the hostile side, judging from his eyes taking in their bodies and weapons. Mainly Thatch's katana. His eyes narrowed after a while before he spat out something neither of the pirates expected to hear; 'What the hell are two _pirates_ doing here? And why should I trust a single word you say? As far as I'm concerned, you're part of Bluejam's crew, or his allies for that matter.'

'Hold on kid, why the attitude? And who is Bluejam ?' Marco said, holding his hands in the air to signal that he didn't want to cause the kid any harm.

'None of your business! Now go away!' The ten year old said as his hand clenched around his pipe.

Marco looked over at Thatch who understood immediately and threw his katana behind him. 'We really don't want to cause you any harm, we just want to know if-' _Cough cough cough._

Both pirates turned their gaze to the house behind Ace which was where the coughs had come from. The raven haired boy quickly moved to stand directly in front of the door, his body adapting a defensive stance.

Marco slowly moved towards the kid. Except for his glare hardening Ace showed no reaction to the adult closing in. Once he was less than a meter away from the boy, Marco bent his knees so he was sitting on his toes and was able to look the boy in the eyes. 'You live out here, right?' Marco kept his voice calm and reassuring, trying to calm the boy down. After a hesitant pause, Ace gave a slight nod. They already knew, so what was the danger?

'Do your parents know?'

Marco winced internally as he saw the boy's eyes grow colder. '_We don't have any parents!_' He spat at the blonde, his grip on the pipe growing. Marco raised his hands in defense. 'Sorry, bad question.' He could hear Thatch sigh behind him. 'You really don't know how to talk to kids, do you Marco?' Turning his upper body to face his comrade he gave him a look which said "Why-don't-you-try?" Grinning, the pompadour man raised his hands and stepped back a few steps. Marco looked him in the eyes and they both knew what he meant. Tell pops and ask for permission. With a grin and a nod, Thatch walked off, picking up his katana on the way.

Turning back to Ace he could see the boy hadn't relaxed a single bit. Sighing, the phoenix rubbed his temples as he tried to figure out how to get the boy to trust him. 'Are one of you injured?' The boy in front of him bit his lower lips and glanced at the house behind him. 'I'll take that as a yes. How old are you?'

Ace was really confused by now. Neither of the two men had shown any sign of wanting to hurt him. And they yet had to ask about his brothers. After thinking about the question for a bit, he decided to answer truthfully.

'Ten.'

Marco could feel a small spark of anger inside him. The boy was a ten-year old orphan who lived alone in the jungle without any adult supervision. Judging by the fact that he had stayed behind and was now guarding the little hut which contained the two other children, he must be the oldest.

'Do you have any siblings?'

'What do you care?'

'I'm just curious, that's all.'

'… I have a brother…'

'What about the third one? Your sister?'

'…No…'

'So two brothers then. How old are they?'

'…'

Ace glared at the men. 'Why are you both still here? Leave!' Marco sighed for the hundredth time that day. 'We're just worried. One of you must be injured and it's easy for wounds to get infected out here in the jungle.' Irritation began to form instead of worry when the little kid _laughed_ at him. 'Worried? For us? You must be from really far away then. No one worries for us here.' Okay, forget the irritation. Now he was really starting to get angry. He was sure everyone on their ship would be just as angry as him.

'Ace, don't be rude.'

Marco looked over at the new voice. In the doorway stood another kid about the same age as Ace with a blue top hat. In his arms were a bundle of white blankets. The newly dubbed "Ace" turned to look over at the new kid. 'Why did you come out? They could be dangerous!' The kid in the hat sighed and gave Ace a stern look before gesturing with one hand to the bundle in his arms. 'He's been awake since he started coughing and I don't think he has a fever anymore.'

Now this was something new. Instead of anger, Ace adapted a look of worry before it changed into relief. A good amount of tension seeped out of his muscles. The other kid walked over to Ace and gave him the bundle, which must have been the third brother. The first division commander raised an eyebrow as a small hand was offered to him. The second brother smiled at him and patiently waited for him to take the offered hand. When he did, they shook hands, and the kid introduced him to their little family.

'My name is Sabo, I'm also ten years old. It's very nice to meet you.' Sabo gave a little bow before continuing. 'You already know Ace, and even though he might seem like a douche right now, but he's really nice if you get to know him. Our third brother is Luffy who is seven years old at the moment.' At this the bundle in Ace's arms started shiftingand a small head popped out to look at him while smiling the cutest smile Marco had seen yet. He had slight tan skin and black hair, just like Ace. His eyes were a light nut-brown and filled with energy.

Looking over at Ace for approval, he slowly made his way over to the oldest and youngest brother, Sabo by his side to make sure Ace didn't hit him. Crouching down once more, he gave his hand to Luffy, who grinned at him and grabbed his big hand with his own little one. 'It's nice to meet you , Luffy.' The little boy grinned at him before pointing at his throat. The blonde brother chuckled a little at this. 'I guess he still has a sore throat. He has been coughing all night long, after all.'

Figuring Luffy would be the easiest one to gain the trust off, Marco started asking him questions, keeping his voice calm and steady during the whole time. 'So Luffy, do you like pirates?' Once he mentioned the word "Pirate" Luffy's face lit up with joy. A small hand pointed to him with a questioning look. Looking over to Sabo for a translation the blonde said 'He's asking if you're a pirate, which I guess you are.' Marco grinned at Luffy in confirmation. 'So, what you all say I show you some things?' Marco was sure he even saw a glimmer of excitement in Ace's eyes.

* * *

When Thatch arrived an hour later he had to grin at the scene in front of him. Marco was sitting with a small boy in his lap, talking to the kid from before and another blonde one. He was telling stories about their adventures and both boys in front of him were listening closely. The boy in his lap was asleep.

Quietly sitting beside Marco he joined in on telling stories by making comments and telling some tales of his own.

When they finished off, it was getting dark. Thatch was about to ask if the brats wanted to join them for dinner when three loud growls came from the brothers. Luffy had woken up a while after Thatch had appeared and was now looking over at his brothers. 'What do you all say we treat you to dinner downtown?' Marco asked.

The two brothers looked at each other while Luffy busied himself with trying to climb over in Thatch's lap. On one side, they needed more pills for Luffy and winter supplies at that, but then again, was it worth it? Ace and Sabo nodded at each other and looked over at Luffy.

'You want to eat at Makino's Lu?'

The cheer they gained from that told the pirates loud and clear that they would be eating with them tonight.

**E/N: **

**No, the 'E' is not for editor. This is the end note. Now that you have read the chapter, I can explain things without spoiling every single fuck. Now, originally I was not going to have Ace and Sabo trust anyone on the ship, but I think making them trust someone makes it more believable. **

**Klem,**

**Heather.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, so this is really late and I haven't really gone over it yet, but hey, it's late, I'm tired and why don't you try writing while watching "Devil Survivor 2- the animation"**

**Anyho, I'll probably update this sometime tomorrow after I've gone through it properly.**

**Enjoy this pile of shitty things if you can.**

**Good night!**

* * *

Chapter three

Edward Newgate, also known as Whitebeard didn't get angry often, unless someone had threatened to hurt his sons. When they first had docked at the little island, everything seemed normal enough. Suspicion had started to grow when he had heard the whispers about a 'cursed fruit'. After discovering that no one went into the mountains and hearing rumors about three small boys coming and going he had sent Thatch and Marco up to investigate. When Thatch had come running down almost an hour later out of breath and struggling with words, he knew something was wrong.

'Pops! I-Marco-Mountain-alarm!-Tree-Blood and I-Child!-Help!'

Worry was slowly brewing in his gut as he heard the words Thatch had managed to gasp out. His crew was gathering around the commander and their captain. Something must be wrong. Where was Marco? Whitebeard spoke with a strong, calm voice. 'Thatch, what happened?' The commander took several deep breaths, trying to get his breathing under control. When he finally did, he started explaining what had happened.

'Marco and I were walking up the mountain when I tripped over this wire which was an alarm, so we followed the cord back to a treehouse and it was empty and there was blood on the bed. When we didn't find anything we were going to leave, and then this boy appeared and ran out, so we followed him and there was this house and Marco tried talking to the kid and he didn't have any parents and he must have at least one younger sibling and one them are hurt and-'

The pompadour man was cut off in his rambling by his captain raising his hand, telling him to stop talking. When the older male looked him in the eyes and smiled with a slight nod, Thatch grinned and ran off again, probably to find Marco and tell him the good news. This was beginning to look interesting.

* * *

Marco and Thatch were both walking down the mountain with two young boys in the middle. The third little brother was sitting on Thatch's shoulders, poking at his hair. Even though he looked like he was giggling, no sound came out. Looking down beside him he saw Sabo walking with quick steps, making a list of some sort all the while. The noble looked up in surprise when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking up he saw Marco pointing over at Luffy who was silently laughing. 'Why doesn't he talk? I haven't heard him say anything at all this whole time.' Sabo sighed and put away his shopping list. Looking over at his little brother he began his explanation. Why was he the only one explaining things? 'Luffy has always been that way. Sometimes he says small words, like 'Ace' or 'Sabo'. He tries talking now and then, but he can never say more than a word or two.' Both pirates winced at that. It must be hard to try and guess what the little boy wants all the time.

As the five got closer and closer to the village, Sabo went over his list. They had about three thousand Beli with the right now. The adults would pay for the meal, so that wasn't a worry.

First priority was getting Luffy's pills. That would be a hundred Beli, normally the pills would cost at least five hundred, but the old man who sold them gave them a discount on behalf of Luffy.

Then it was the food. Normally food wouldn't be a problem, but with Luffy's condition, only one of them could go out hunting at a time. Only one person meant less food. Let's see, seven hundred should be enough for the winter. That made two thousand two hundred beli left.

Three, no, six thick blankets, three very thick and the other three a bit thinner should be enough. Big ones. Let's put a thousand on that. One thousand two hundred beli left. What was next? Water was easy, so no need to worry about that. Some canteens maybe? Yeah, that would be good. Three of them.

They would have at least five hundred beli left for other things. Makino had brought them some thick coats last time she came with clothes for them, so warm clothing was not a worry.

The village was barely in sight when Sabo wrote down the final items on the list. Once he was done he passed both list and pencil over to Ace. This was how their rutine was. Ace carries Luffy while Sabo writes down a list. Once he was done, the switched.

Ace let his eyes wander down the list, making sure it was all there.

_Pills for Luffy- 100 Beli._

_Food- 700 Beli._

_Blankets __X3__, X6- 1000 Beli._

_Canteens X3._

_Tea._

_Stuffed animal for Lu._

_Books on navigation for Sabo._

_Slingshot for Ace._

_Books to read to Luffy._

_Cards._

_Paper._

_Pencils._

Handing the list back to Sabo, Ace thanked the gods for giving Sabo a workable brain. Who knew what would happen if Sabo wasn't there?

It had been a normal day for Makino. She had served some sake and food to the pirates, but they didn't look to be hostile. When two of the pirates came in along with the three Ace, Sabo and Luffy, she knew something was up. Smiling at the brothers she began finding menus for the five. 'Why, isn't this a rare sight? Our infamous little sibling group along with adults. And pirates at that?' Ace scowled at her and Sabo smiled at her. Luffy was too busy trying to climb up the bar stool to answer. Well, seeing Luffy with pirates wasn't really uncommon either.

Marco let a faint smile cross his face as he watched Luffy trying to climb up on the stool. Bending over slightly, Marco lifted the small child onto the stool. Said boy grinned at him as a 'thank you' of sorts once he was seated. Ace sat on his left and Sabo on his right. Thatch had claimed the spot beside Ace, which left Marco with the spot beside Sabo. Once seated he spotted the barmaid sending both him and Thatch pitying looks.

_'Something tells me this was a bad idea…'_

* * *

Two hours and two wallets later, the group finally finished eating. Or rather, Ace finally finished eating. Thatch was pouting while looking down into his empty wallet. 'And I was saving for a brand new watch too… Y'know, the one at that island? The one with the gold and stuff…' Marco snorted, 'You only want that because it will impress the ladies. Man up' Thatch pouted at him. 'You don't understand anything! You stupid bird!'

Ace watched in what seemed like a mix of amusement and boredom. Adults sure were weird, huh. A warm hand tapped his shoulder. Looking to his side, Ace saw a tired looking Sabo holding a sleeping Luffy in his arms. The noble smiled exhausted at his brother and pointed to the stairs while mouthing 'Let's go' Casting one last glance at the bickering adults Ace moved towards the stairs with his brother just behind.


End file.
